Chińczycy w Starym Testamencie – Cornelius a Lapide SJ i jego egzegeza wersetu z Księgi Izajasza (49,12)

In the Masoretic text of the Book of Isaiah (49.12) hapax legomenon ereṣ Sinim “land of Sinim” appears, which was translated by Targum Jonathan as ’rṣ drwm’ and by St. Jerome as terra Australis “southern land”. Meanwhile, in the Septuagint “the land of the Persians” is mentioned. The problematic biblical verse drew the attention of modern exegetes since the beginning of the 16th century, with the dissemination of the Bible polyglot printed editions, biblical research, and translations of the Old Testament into national languages. The correct interpretation of the toponym Sinim was proposed by Ulrich Zwingli in 1531 as Syene, hence Johann David Michaelis proposed the conjecture of ereṣ Swnim, which was confirmed in the scroll of Qumran (1QIsaa) found in 1947 as ereṣ Swniim. However, in the early modern biblical exegesis, ereṣ Sinim was still identified with Sinai according to St. Jerome’s interpretation, or new interpretations were proposed by biblical scholars. Jerónimo Osório da Fonseca was the first to propose identification with Sinarum regio “the kingdom of China”. This paper concerns the arguments brought together by Benito Arias Montano and Cornelis van den Steen (Cornelius a Lapide) SJ for the identification Sinim with China. These arguments are largely based on the geographical discoveries of the Portuguese and the hopes of Jesuit missionaries to convert the Ming dynasty to Christianity.W masoreckim tekście Księgi Izajasza (49,12) pojawia się hapax legomenon ereṣ Sinim „ziemia Sinów”, co zostało przełożone przez Targum Jonathana jako ’rṣ drwm’, a przez św. Hieronima jako terra Australis „ziemia południowa”. Tymczasem w Septuagincie we wskazanym miejscu wspomniana jest „ziemia Persów”. Ta wielowariantowość tekstu biblijnego zwróciła uwagę nowożytnych egzegetów wraz z upowszechnieniem wydań Starego Testamentu, badań biblistycznych i przekładów na kolejne języki z początkiem XVI wieku. Właściwą interpretację tego toponimu zaproponował Ulrich Zwingli w 1531 roku jako Syene, stąd Johann David Michaelis zaproponował koniekturę ereṣ Swnim, co znalazło potwierdzenie w odnalezionym w 1947 roku zwoju z Qumran (1QIsaa) jako ereṣ Swniim. Jednak we wczesnonowożytnej egzegezie ereṣ Sinim wciąż jeszcze identyfikowano w ślad za Hieronimem z Synajem lub proponowano całkiem nowatorskie interpretacje. Jerónimo Osório da Fonseca jako pierwszy zaproponował identyfikację z Sinarum regio – „królestwem Chin”. Artykuł ten poświęcony jest argumentom, jakie dla tej identyfikacji zgromadzili Benito Arias Montano oraz Cornelis van den Steen (Cornelius a Lapide) SJ. Argumentacja ta opiera się w znacznej mierze na odkryciach geograficznych Portugalczyków oraz nadziejach misjonarzy jezuickich na konwersję państwa dynastii Ming

Fryderyk Kazimierz Wolff SJ (1643–1708) i Tomasz Dunin Szpot SJ (1644–1713) – polscy jezuici jako pośrednicy kulturowi w czasach poselstwa cara Piotra I do Europy (1697–1698)

The Great Embassy of Tsar Peter I Alexeyevich Romanov, or the diplomatic journey to Western Europe, took place between March 9/10, 1697, and August 25, 1698. It was accompanied by the extensive activities of other Muscovite diplomats, such as Boris Sheremetev. As early as March 1698, he visited Vienna, where he received recommendation letters to Frederick Casimir Wolff SJ, an imperial diplomat originating from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, specifically from a senatorial family from the Inflanty Voivodeship. Father Wolff recommended in Rome the reception of Sheremetev, supposedly inclined towards the union, by a Jesuit knowledgeable in the Slavic language. In this way, the paths of the Muscovite diplomat and Father Thomas Dunin Szpot crossed. Szpot left an account describing Sheremetev’s visit and audiences in Rome, during which General of the Order Tirso Gonzalez de Santalla offered the Muscovite diplomat as gifts Polish manuscripts prepared by Szpot on topics like the missions in Japan or the decrees of the ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church. This account also portrays Tsar Peter I’s stay in Vienna, where special bonds of intimacy developed between Father Wolff and the Tsar, thanks to their ability to communicate in Polish.Wielkie poselstwo cara Piotra I Aleksiejewicza Romanowa, czyli podróż dyplomatyczna do Europy Zachodniej, miało miejsce między 9/10 marca 1697 r. a 25 sierpnia 1698 r. Towarzyszyła mu szeroko zakrojona aktywność innych moskiewskich dyplomatów, jak np. Borysa Szeremietiewa. Już w marcu 1698 r. odwiedził Wiedeń, gdzie otrzymał listy polecające do Fryderyka Kazimierza Wolffa SJ, cesarskiego dyplomaty, wywodzącego się z Rzeczypospolitej, a konkretnie z senatorskiego rodu z województwa inflanckiego. Ojciec Wolff zalecał przyjęcie w Rzymie Szeremietiewa, rzekomo skłonnego do unii, przez jakiegoś jezuitę znającego język słowiański. W ten sposób skrzyżowały się drogi moskiewskiego dyplomaty z ojcem Tomaszem Duninem Szpotem. Ten zostawił relację opisującą wizytę i audiencje Szeremietiewa w Rzymie, w których generał zakonu Tirso González de Santalla podsuwał moskiewskiemu dyplomacie jako dary polskie manuskrypty przygotowane przez Szpota na temat misji w Japonii czy postanowień soborów powszechnych Kościoła katolickiego. Relacja ta przedstawia również pobyt Piotra I w Wiedniu, podczas którego – dzięki możliwości porozumiewania się w języku polskim – pomiędzy ojcem Wolffem a carem wytworzyły się więzy szczególnej zażyłości

Chinese in Ethiopia? Seres in the Ethiopian adventures of Theagenes and Chariclea by Heliodorus

In the Ethiopian adventures of Theagenes and the Chariclea by Heliodorus, Seres are mentioned twice as allies of the Ethiopian king in the battle against the Persians (9, 16–18) and participants in the royal audience at Meroe (10, 25–26). They donate silk produced in their country to the King Hydaspes, so they are usually considered Chinese by commentators. However, the world presented in Heliodorus’ novel is set in the realities of the Roman era and Roman eastern trade, when African countries also participated in trans-oceanic contacts with India. The archetype of the Heliodorus’ Seres can be found in the kingdom of Chera, located in southern India.In the Ethiopian adventures of Theagenes and the Chariclea by Heliodorus, Seres are mentioned twice as allies of the Ethiopian king in the battle against the Persians (9, 16–18) and participants in the royal audience at Meroe (10, 25–26). They donate silk produced in their country to the King Hydaspes, so they are usually considered Chinese by commentators. However, the world presented in Heliodorus’ novel is set in the realities of the Roman era and Roman eastern trade, when African countries also participated in trans-oceanic contacts with India. The archetype of the Heliodorus’ Seres can be found in the kingdom of Chera, located in southern India

What do we need China for? Part 1: the incidentality of Sino-Polish relations before 1949

This paper is the first part of a bigger whole titled “What do we need China for.” It is focused on the incidentality of historical Sino-Polish relations before 1949. Although the state of Poland has existed since time of Song dynasty in China, earlier mutual Polish-Chinese relations were incidental and limited to very loosely connected or completely unrelated historical events, e.g. legacies to Great Khan, missionary activities, military and civil service to foreign powers, occasional contacts between revolutionary politicians, the refuge for Poles in Harbin. The second part titled “The superpower of East Asia and new perspectives of Polish raison d’État” will be published soon

Stanisław Niegoszewski’s three sojourns in Padua (1565–post-1600)

Stanisław Niegoszewski (1565-post-1600) was a prime example of a Renaissance man: he was a student at the universities of Krakow and Padua; a poet-improviser; an alchemist; a courtier of King Sigismund Vasa III; a diplomat; a devout follower of the Counter-Reformation; and a businessman. He divided his life between Poland and Italy, and his biography is known to us so fragmentarily that some scholars reconstruct his life based on instinct, assumptions, personal preference, or unfounded hypotheses. Henryk Barycz, the eminent scholar and author of entries in the Polish Biographical Dictionary, had divided the deeds and works of one Stanisław Niegoszewski into two different persons: “Stanisław Niegoszewski (Niegoszowski), coat of arms of Jastrzębiec (circa 1560-5 - circa 1588-90),” a student at the universities of Krakow and Padua and a poet-improviser, and “Stanisław Niegoszewski (Niegoszowski), coat of arms of Jastrzębiec (circa 1565-70 - after 1607),” an alchemist, courtier of King Sigismund Vasa III, diplomat, devout follower of the CounterReformation, and poet as well. Although Władysław Magnuszewski proved wrong Barycz’s theory about the existence of two Niegoszewskis nearly a half-century ago, the outdated theory is repeated by new generations of scholars again and again. This paper attempts to prove that all three sojourns in Padua of a certain Niegoszewski—as a student in 1582-1583, as an alchemist in 1585, and as a royal diplomat in 1594—belong to the same person. Based on new sources found in Italian archives and libraries in 2013, the biography of a single Stanisław Niegoszewski could be reconstructed with much more detail than before.Stanisław Niegoszewski (1565-post 1600), studente dell’Università di Cracovia e di quella di Padova, poeta-improvvisatore, alchimista, cortigiano di re Sigismondo III Vasa, diplomatico, fervente sostenitore della Controriforma ed uomo d’affari, fu uno dei primi esempi di uomo del Rinascimento. Egli trascorse la sua vita fra la Polonia e l’Italia. La sua biografia ci è nota in modo tanto frammentario che alcuni studiosi ricostruiscono la sua vita basandosi sull’istinto, presupposizioni, preferenze personali ed ipotesi infondate. Henryk Barycz, eminente ricercatore ed autore di varie voci del Dizionario Biografico Polacco, ha scisso le vicende e l’opera di Stanisław Niegoszewski in due persone differenti: ”Stanisław Niegoszewski (Niegoszowski), dello stemma di Jastrzębiec (1560-5 ca. - 1588-90 ca.)”, studente delle università di Cracovia e di Padova nonché poeta improvvisatore, e ”Stanisław Niegoszewski (Niegoszowski), dello stemma di Jastrzębiec (1565-70 ca. - post 1607)”, alchimista, cortigiano di re Sigismondo III Vasa, diplomatico, fervente sostenitore della Controriforma nonché poeta. Sebbene Władysław Magnuszewski abbia confutato la teoria di Barycz sull’esistenza di due Niegoszewski circa mezzo secolo fa, essa viene ribadita da sempre nuove generazioni di studiosi. In questo articolo mi sforzo di dimostrare che tutti e tre i soggiorni di Niegoszewski a Padova, come studente negli anni 1582-1583, come alchimista nel 1585 e in qualità di diplomatico reale nel 1594, riguardano la stessa persona. Sulla base delle nuove fonti da me rinvenute negli archivi e nelle biblioteche italiane nel 2013, la biografia di Stanisław Niegoszewski, lo stesso, è stata ricostruita con molti più dettagli di prima